AccuWeather.com

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

Feb 24, 2012; 4:48 PM ET

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A weather snapshot of the Northeast shows a storm Friday.

The second snowstorm in two days is impacting part of upstate New York, northern New England and neighboring Canada this evening.

Several inches of snow will fall from Ottawa, Ontario, to Montreal, Quebec, Burlington, Vt. and Houlton, Maine.

According to Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews," Neighboring Canada will pick up as much as 30 centimeters of snow from part of southern Ontario to the St. Lawrence Valley and into New Brunswick."

This new snow, combined with recent snowfall, will make for a long-awaited weekend boon for northern skiers and snowmobilers, as just enough cold air will come in and stay in to allow the snow to stick around for a couple of days.

This map does not include lake-effect snow falling Friday night and Saturday. For a larger version of this map, visit the Winter Weather Center.

Road conditions will vary during the storm from wet to slushy to snow-covered. The conditions will depend largely on the intensity of the snow.

Generally, it has to snow very hard to stick to roads during the middle of the day with near or slightly above-freezing temperatures forecast for most areas. In the mountains, where it is typically a bit colder, more of the snow will stick to the roads.

Just south of the band of heavy snow, a zone of wintry mix or a quick change to rain is in store with little or no accumulation.

Farther south in the mid-Atlantic, a cold front swinging through today will mark the end of the recent warmth. Many areas will have several hours of gusty winds and a couple of showers. A few locations can be hit with a thunderstorm and brief powerful wind gusts.

The same storm is poised to bring severe weather to the Southeast and mid-Atlantic.

In the wake of the storm into this weekend, the air will be cold enough to produce lake-effect snow in downwind areas.

According to Meteorologist Meghan Evans, "Strong winds will blast much of the Northeast during Saturday."

The lack of ice on the lakes may add to the intensity of the bands of snow from what would normally take place in late February of a typical winter.

The cold will ease again early next week.